Portraits/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby is attempting to paint a portrait. He is joined by Tim. Tim is wearing a T-shirt with the Mona Lisa on it. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Uh . . . it doesn't look much like you. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Uh huh. Tim holds up a letter to the camera. TIM: Dear Tim & Moby, I think portraits are the most boring kind of painting. Why do people make them? Thanks, Angelo. Tim comes on screen again alone. TIM: Well... well, portraits aren't so boring if you know what to look for. Like Moby's self-portrait, portraits are more than just an exact replication of the sitter, or the person being painted. In fact, portraits don't even have to be painted — they can be carved in stone or wood, painted on ivory, hammered into metal, drawn in pencil, or taken with a camera. Tim disappears from view and six portraits of Moby appear. Each portrait is an example of the types of portraits mentioned. But a good portrait can show you what a person is thinking or feeling; what kind of position he or she holds in society; and even give you some clues about the history and culture of that society. A painting of a woman standing behind a bar appears. The camera zooms in on the bottles of champagne and alcohol around her. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, portraits show all that through the background, the props in the painting, and even how the sitter is placed in the painting. To get the most out of a portrait, it helps to approach it like a detective, looking at visual clues to learn about the sitter and the time and place he or she lived in. A portrait of George Washington appears on the screen. You'll probably recognize this guy. But this is more than just a picture of George Washington. If you look at it closely, it gives you a whole, like, essay, almost, on who George Washington was and what he believed in. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, look at the background and the room he's in. The chair behind Washington looks like a throne — but it's not a throne, which shows the difference between the democratic United States and the monarchies of Europe. The camera zooms in on the chair behind George Washington. And if you look closely at the top of the chair, you’ll see the Stars and Stripes. The camera zooms in on the top of the chair showing a small oval with the American flag in it. There's also a laurel branch, which symbolizes victory – the victory of Washington's colonial army over the British. There’s a pen and inkwell on the table next to him, but he's also holding a sword, which says that Washington is a leader on the battlefield as well as an educated and intellectual man. The camera moves to the left side of the painting and focuses on the table at his side, which has an inkwell, a quill, and some paper. An arrow appears on screen and points out these items. Another arrow points to the sword held in George Washington's left hand. His intelligence is backed up by the books on and under the table. The camera zooms out and two arrows point to the books. And he's wearing a simple black suit — that symbolizes the fact that he's a humble citizen-leader, and not a military dictator or a king in royal robes. An arrow points to his suit. Another arrow points to his face and the camera zooms in. His face and posture both suggest that he is a strong, powerful man — but also one who’s sincere and generous. An arrow points to his outstretched hand and the camera zooms back out. His arm is outstretched, as though he's giving a command — but his palm is turned upwards, so he looks welcoming, almost fatherly. One critic said that he looked as if he were "bestowing his good advice on his countrymen." MOBY: Beep! TIM: Yep, Washington is often called the father of our nation. The portrait of George Washington returns and the camera zooms in to the top right corner. And there, if you look way up in the corner, you can see a rainbow. That suggests new hope for a new country! See? This portrait is more than just a snapshot of Washington — it's a careful collection of images and symbols that show him as a great leader of a new and powerful nation. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know, it's pretty cool. MOBY: Beep? TIM: No . . . no, portraits don’t have to be so representative. A painting of a man's face appears on screen. The painting looks distorted. Pablo Picasso liked to paint portraits that looked hardly anything like real people. Although he was painting a real person — in this case, a famous art dealer — the work is more about the way the painting is put together than what's being shown. A painting of Marilyn Monroe in multiple shades appears on screen. And Andy Warhol made a famous set of Marilyn Monroe portraits using unrealistic colors to explore abstract design and repetition. Four images appear on screen. The top left painting is of an Egyptian pharaoh. The top right painting is of a man on riding a horse. The bottom left painting is of a man being looked at by four other men in a room. The bottom right image is of a statue of a man carrying a block. Non-Western cultures have a long history of portraiture, too, focusing less on what a person actually looks like than what kind of job they do or what place they hold in society. The screen returns to Moby and his portrait. The portrait is very simple. Moby crumples up his portrait and reveals a second portrait of Tim. The screen returns to Moby and Tim together. TIM: Hey, you've made my forehead enormous! MOBY: Beep. TIM: That . . . that shows how smart I am? I don't . . . I don't buy it. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Arts & Music Transcripts